Geographic clustering of venues may be necessary given FIFA’s requirements for start times in the final group games.

Gulati indicated that he believes LA may have a new stadium by 2018 or 2022 capable of hosting World Cup matches. He did not rule out a return to the Rose Bowl or using the Coliseum.

A city does not need to have an MLS, WPS or USL team to host matches. Some cities cannot support a team for 15-17 home matches in MLS or USL Gulati stated but may be able to a very good job hosting the World Cup. That statement keeps Detroit and Orlando two cities that hosted 1994 World Cup matches but currently do not have a team in MLS, WPS or USL in strong consideration.

Gulati repeatedly made reference to the experience hosting World Cup matches in the Pontiac Silverdome in 1994, and indicated that indoor venues are perfectly acceptable and turf can easily be replaced by grass for the tournament.

Several cities have stadiums under construction or proposed stadiums which will be considered as well.

OTHER NEWS

Chris Birchall, a midfielder for Trindiad and Tobago who featured prominently in the Soca Warriors 2006 World Cup campaign is reportedly a target of the LA Galaxy according to Tribal Football.

Facundo Erpen whose best game in MLS was probably the 2006 MLS All Star game when he did an outstanding job against Chelsea at Toyota Park has signed with Miami FC pending USSF approval.

FC New York owner Doug Peterson met with the Borough Boys yesterday. Dylan Butler’s piece is linked here. This is a big step for FC NY. Many New York Red Bulls supporters have tried to undermine the credibility of the USL-1 expansion team in the last week stating that this new side is really a Long Island team not a proper city team. But Peterson’s early meeting with the Borough Boys is a good sign that eventually FC New York will establish its fan base within the city limits of New York.

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About The Author

A lifelong lover of soccer, the beautiful game, he served from January 2010 until May 2013 as the Director of Communications and Public Relations for the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Raised on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the old NASL, Krishnaiyer previously hosted the American Soccer Show on the Champions Soccer Radio Network, the Major League Soccer Talk podcast and the EPL Talk Podcast.
His soccer writing has been featured by several media outlets including The Guardian and The Telegraph. He is the author of the book Blue With Envy about Manchester City FC.

Are you kidding? He’s a League 1/League 2 caliber player. Makes MLS look even more small time!

USL has 12 teams in Canada? WTF is the USSF doing allowing this? Look at that map, and the cluster of teams around Toronto and Vancouver: and also that Thunder Bay team won the PDL title.

One canadian team and two in USL were okay. But now 2 in MLS and the revelation of all these lower league canadian teams in USL is sick. Why is it that they don’t form their own league?????????????????????????????

The best thing that can happen right now for MLS is for the United States of America to get the World Cup. If FIFA really cares about growing the game in non-traditional futbol markets, they will give the US one of the two world cups, and give MLS, and USL a major boost.

That the organizing commmitte -an arm of the Federation – should be shacked up with MLS is a joke, yes. And if Toronto or Edmonton is added to the list, I’ll scramble some fighter jets.

I’ve always felt that a US WC should be based on geographic clusters. But here’s the kicker: several stadiums do require modification. Owners who pony up for them will demand more than three games. Ironic, no? That a stadium that wasn’t built with soccer in mind could get more games than a stadium that was built with soccer in mind just because the owner had to come out of pocket.

Anyway, despite what they say, the committee will favor areas with MLS teams with the exception of say Florida and, perhaps, New Orleans. They insist otherwise just so they can come heavy with their first list and impress everyone.

The two groups / three stadiums formula will be retained. That would require twelve stadiums. But I wouldn’t be surprised if two cities were added; they could be situated roughly between two of the geographic clusters and they’d be willing to accept as few as two games, games “laid off” from stadiums that might host more than four.

For instance, if you had a NE cluster of Foxboro, Giants and Fed Ex and a Southern cluster of Houston, Dallas and Miami, you might want to lay two games off to Nashville. Western and Midwestern groups could lay games off to Denver, etc. Maybe the Southern group gets paired up with the Western cluster and games get laid off to Phoenix. The Midwest and Northeast could lay off to Cleveland.

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